Howdy y'all,
Ive an 1873 Winchester rifle in .32wcf...The serial number is 299xxxB and indicating a mfg. date of 1888-89..I am curious about the letter "B" in the SN and hoping someone may be of help.
Thanks.
Ron

RJay

May 31, 2006, 11:22 AM

Don't know, my reference shows no prefix nor suffix. Try arms collectors.com Bret Hartman hangs out there and he is a Winchester expert.

BigG

May 31, 2006, 11:37 AM

I've got a reference book on 1873 Winchesters at home.

I believe the letter concerns the variation of the gun. There were three different model variations, having mostly to do with the dust cover. Yours is probably a third model, as mine has a "B" also (IIRC) and it's a third model.

If the track the dust cover slides on is integral to the frame, it's a third model. The second model had a screwed on track, and I can't remember what the first model had. Of course, this applies to both rifles and carbines. The action was what varied. HTH